If you thought Pétanque (boules) was just about a bunch of Pastis-sipping elderly men idly throwing balls on a village square then think again. The Local lists ten things you really need to know about the sport (yes, sport!).
1. Ancient Greek origins
The French would have you believe that they invented the game, but the origins of Pétanque can be traced as far back as Ancient Greece when people played games which involved tossing coins and stones. The Ancient Romans then came up with the idea of adding a target – which in the case of the French interpretation of the game is called a “cochonnet” (the literal translation being “piglet” in English). As for the name Pétanque – which is also used in English – it comes from the word “la petanca” in Provençal dialect, deriving from pès tancats or “feet together”.
2. Not just a sport for retired men
Yes, you are more likely to come across elderly men playing the sport but statistics show that more and more women are taking part. In this year’s Pétanque World Cup – in which women have only been allowed to compete since 2002 – a grand total of 456 women are taking part. Today around 14 percent of the sport’s 311,971 registered members in France are women. According to the President of the Ligue Paca, women bring a certain “sensibility” to the sport that the male players lack.
3. The rise of the “bouligans”
The term “Bouliganisme” was coined after numerous stories about rising incivility among French players. In 2007, the newspaper Midi-Libre reported: “Petanque is no longer a convivial sport. It is being undermined by constant incivility, verbal threats and gross insults. The non-respect of sporting rules by some players is driving others away, as well as referees who feel endangered.”
4. Dangerous sport
Pétanque may be regarded by many as a gentle pastime but it has been known to get out of hand. In 2008 a man in the village of Adé in the Pyrenees was killed by a fellow player’s ball as he was checking how close his own was to the target – the tiny cochonnet ball. In another tragic accident – quite unrelated to the sport – a pensioner was trampled to death by a two-tonne runaway circus elephant as he played the game.
5. Asian fans
Pétanque may be culturally associated with France but the International Federation of Pétanque and Provençal Game estimates that the sport – which has around 10-12 million players worldwide in 160 countries – is in fact most popular in Asia. No surprise then that Thailand currently holds second place in the Pétanque World Championships ranking. An estimated 1.5 million Chinese children apparently play the game at school.
6. Olympic ambitions
A gentle pastime, you say? Well, don’t say that to the World Federation of the Sport of Boules. Founded in 1985 by three international boules organisations, the federation has fought for decades to get the game recognised as an Olympic sport. And they are lobbying hard to get the game recognised for the 2024 Olympics – which Paris is hosting.